Sturminster
Newton is a traditional Dorset
town, which built up to serve the surrounding agricultural area of North
Dorset. It stands halfway between Blandford and Sherborne on the River
Stour, across which spans a six-arched 17th century bridge of medieval
origin.

On
the south side of the Town Bridge is Sturminster Newton Mill which has
been restored to working order in the 1980's and where the public can
see the grinding machinery working. It is of particular interest as the
less efficient water mill was replaced by a then state-of-the-art water
turbine in 1904. The history of Sturminster and its people and industry
is shown in the Mill.

Also
south of the bridge is the castle, ruins of a small 14th-century
building set within the crescent-shaped grassy mound possibly of an Iron
Age fort. Across the bridge, near the mill and castle are thatched
cottages and an old coaching inn, The Bull.

The
parish church was rebuilt in 1486 by one of the last abbots of
Glastonbury and the carved wagon roof is of this period, although much
of the remainder is of 19th-century rebuilding. The beautiful carved
screens are by local craftsmen. The church is set back from the main
street which leads into the triangular market square. The base of the
old market cross stands at one end of this in between two 15th to
16th-century houses. Also old are the nearby thatched White Hart Inn of
1708 and a bow-fronted Georgian shop. The Assembly Rooms date from about
1800 and the nearby brick-fronted Swan Hotel is a mid 18th-century
structure.

Market
stalls fill the square on Mondays even though what was the largest calf
market in Britain has long since closed. As also has the Artificial
Insemination Centre at nearby Rivers Corner, which was set up in 1947
and served the whole of south-west England.

The
town has strong literary links - the Dorset poet William Barnes was born
and educated in Sturminster Newton, where the small stone school
survives. Thomas Hardy, Dorset's most noted author wrote The Return of
the Native during the two years he lived in the town.